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Buescher Finishes 21st After Turning in Strong Performance Early at Talladega

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Official Release
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LINCOLN, Ala. (April 25, 2021) – Chris Buescher and the No. 17 Fastenal team turned in a strong performance in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Talladega Superspeedway, running the majority of the race inside the field’s top 10. Buescher powered his Ford to as far up as second position during the 500-mile event, picked up stage points in each of the first two segments and was poised for a strong finish before being shuffled into the outside retaining wall in the races’ final lap, resulting in the 21st-place finish.

“The finish there was a tough one,” said Buescher. “It’s hard because our Fastenal team did a great job, and we were up front and in position the whole day. It looked like we were going to be able to make a strong run at the end, but those are the types of things that happen at Talladega. Still, I’m proud of this No. 17 team and the effort we put in today and we’ll regroup and go back after it next week.”

Buescher started the race 21st and wasted little time working his Fastenal machine to the front, advancing to the seventh position by the race’s fourth lap and finishing the first segment in sixth place, picking up early stage points.

The team overcame a pit road speeding penalty and slight damage to the front of the No. 17 Ford during the second stage, battled back inside the top 10 and finished the segment in eighth.

Having run the majority of the final stage inside the top 10, Buescher restarted in sixth position with three laps to go in the race, and was driving to a strong finish before the contact with another car sent him into the unforgiving wall and the 21st-place finish.

Buescher and the No. 17 team return to action next weekend at Kansas Speedway. Race coverage is set for 3 p.m. ET on FS1 and MRN, and coverage can also be heard on SiriusXM Channel 90.

Saving the Best for Last: Keselowski Surges to Lead on Final Lap to Win GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

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Official Release
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GEICO 500 winner Brad Keselowski sports the traditional winner’s horseshoe wreath and Vulcan Trophy after his Sunday win at Talladega Superspeedway, leading the final lap.

Newman Perseveres for 13th at Talladega

By
Official Release
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LINCOLN, Ala. (April 25, 2021) – Stage racing played out to be the highlight of Sunday afternoon’s 500-mile race from Talladega Superspeedway, where Ryan Newman persevered and overcame a pair of late speeding penalties to bring his Castrol Ford Mustang home in the 13th position.

After the scheduled distance moved into NASCAR overtime, Newman was the recipient of the lucky dog, putting him back in the mix for the green-white-checkered finish. After restarting tail end of the field, the veteran fought back to the solid finish in the closing two laps.

Newman began the afternoon from the 28th spot but used his typical Superspeedway strategy staying near the rear of the pack most of the day. He drove to the line 24th in an action-packed end of stage one that saw a car on its roof.

Stage two had a similar outcome with a multi-car incident ending the segment with Newman in 21st. He rolled off 20th for the final 62 laps and maintained his strategy up until the final green-flag stop at lap 156, where Newman was caught speeding, then was penalized for speeding on the pass through.

Despite the mishap, Newman worked his way back on the lead lap in the closing moments and weaved through one final, dicey restart to bring home the top-15.

Newman and the No. 6 team head to Kansas Speedway next weekend. Race coverage is set for 3 p.m. ET on FS1 and MRN, and coverage can also be heard on SiriusXM Channel 90.

DiBenedetto Finished Fifth at Talladega

By
Official Release
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Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang came up short in their bid for victory in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, but still ended up with their first top-five finish of 2021, their first Stage win of the season and led five times for a total of 28 laps.

DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang were among the leaders from start to finish of Sunday’s race. After starting 13th, he took the lead for the first time on Lap 51 and collected 10 Stage points plus a Playoff Point for winning the opening 60-lap Stage.

He continued to run up front in Stage Two, but had a big moment after contact with Kyle Busch in the closing laps of the Stage. When DiBenedetto recovered, he elected to stay back until the end of the Stage, a move that paid off as he escaped damage from a multi-car crash in the lead pack at the end of that Stage.

In the final segment of the race, DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang climbed from as far back as 23rd place to fifth with 20 laps remaining. DiBenedetto took second place with 16 laps remaining and was running there when the caution flag flew for a spin by Quinn Houff.

Just after a restart with 12 laps to go, DiBenedetto continued in the lead and held it until the yellow flag flew with four laps remaining for debris from Martin Truex Jr.’s car.

That caution pushed the race into overtime, and DiBenedetto surged ahead when the green flag was displayed. He held the top spot as the lead pack sped under the white flag, his 14th-straight lap led, but lost it when he moved to the outside lane ahead of an oncoming Ryan Blaney. But after DiBenedetto made the lane change, Blaney lost his drafting push. That allowed DiBenedetto’s Ford teammate Brad Keselowski to take the lead and the win, while DiBenedetto held on to finish fifth, as Mustang drivers swept four of the top five finishing positions.

Despite his disappointment over the events of the last lap DiBenedetto focused on the positives afterward.

“We will hold our heads high,” DiBenedetto said. “We won a Stage, ran up front all day and came away with a top-five-finish and had a good points day. We did the best we could.”

DiBenedetto did say he didn’t want to see the final caution flag fly.

“I liked how we were sitting before that last caution fell,” he said, adding that the move to pick up Blaney on the final lap seemed to be a good one at the time. “Everything got all jumbled up after that.”

“But our time will come.”

Next up for DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Wood Brothers team is a 400-miler at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. The 42 points that DiBenedetto earned at Talladega propelled him to 17th in the points standings, 12 points behind 16th place.

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About Motorcraft:

Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

About Omnicraft:

Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visit www.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.

About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center

Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine vehicle maintenance including tire repair and replacement with a Low Tire Price Guarantee and a full menu of automotive services including oil and filter, brakes, alignments, batteries, and shocks and struts on all vehicle makes and models. Service is performed by certified technicians at more than 1,000 locations worldwide while you wait, and no appointment is necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 200,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.

Keselowski prevails in overtime for sixth victory at Talladega

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images.

Brad Keselowski rallied from being involved in an accident following the first stage involving his teammate Joey Logano to add his name as a NASCAR Cup Series winner in 2021 after overtaking Matt DiBenedetto on the final lap before holding off Michael McDowell and William Byron to win the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 25.

Keselowski’s first victory of the season, which occurred in his 423rd career start, came with a bonus as he became the third competitor in the Cup Series history to win at Talladega six times.

The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. Denny Hamlin, the regular-season points leader, was scheduled to start on pole position, but he dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments. With that, Joey Logano and Alex Bowman, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Richmond Raceway, started on the front row.

Along with Hamlin, teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell along with Bubba Wallace, B.J. McLeod and Harrison Burton, making his Cup Series debut with Gaunt Brothers Racing, dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments. Cody Ware also started at the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection twice.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Logano moved from the bottom lane to the outside lane and in front of William Byron to retain the lead. Byron, however, drew himself alongside Logano as he led the first lap by a narrow margin as the field fanned out to two lanes in a pack.

While Logano and Byron battled for the lead in front of a bevy of cars in a pack, Kyle Larson pitted after reporting temperature and engine issues to his No. 5 Chevrolet. Despite trying to continue while multiple laps down, the engine issues on Larson’s car was enough to terminate his run early.

By the fifth lap and with the lead group running in a single-file line, Logano was leading followed by teammate Brad Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick and rookie Chase Briscoe. Cole Custer and Chris Buescher were in sixth and seventh followed by Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain.

By the 10th lap, Logano remained out in front of a three-wide pack battling for positions at the front.

Two laps later, Wallace moved his No. 23 Door Dash Toyota Camry to the lead followed by Kevin Harvick. Another three laps later, though, Harvick moved to the outside lane and received a push from Brad Keselowski to lead a lap for himself. 

Entering Turn 1, Harvick moved in front of Wallace for the lead followed by Keselowski while Wallace remained as the first car leading the inside lane. By then, names like Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, Tyler Reddick and teammate Austin Dillon were in the top 10 along with Kyle Busch, Logano, Kurt Busch and Christopher Bell.

When the competition caution flew on Lap 25, Kyle Busch, who took over the top spot on Lap 22, was the leader followed by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Logano, Chase Elliott and others.

Under the competition caution, most of the leaders pitted and Hamlin exited in first followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Bell, Byron and Kurt Busch. During the pit stops, Harrison Burton was assessed a pit road penalty for removing the gas can out of his pit stall. Truex was also penalized for speeding on pit road along with Ryan Preece due to a crew member jumping over the wall too soon.

Back on the track, a handful of competitors that include rookie Chase Briscoe, Corey LaJoie, Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Ryan Newman, rookie Anthony Alfredo, Justin Haley, B.J. McLeod, Timmy Hill and J.J. Yeley remained on the track. They all, though, pitted prior to the restart.

When the race restarted on Lap 30, Hamlin retained the lead over teammate Kyle Busch while the field quickly fanned out to three lanes.

By Lap 35 and with the field still fanned out to three lanes, Hamlin remained in the lead on the outside lane followed by Keselowski while Kyle Busch mounted a challenge in the inside lane with drafting help from Byron. Wallace, meanwhile, was in the middle lane in front of Elliott, but shuffled out of the lead draft after challenging for the top spot earlier.

The caution returned on Lap 39 due to Joey Gase spinning in Turn 4. Under caution, some like Harvick, Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Tyler Reddick, Matt DiBenedetto, Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.

When the field restarted on Lap 43, the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry piloted by Hamlin retained the lead followed by Blaney and the pack.

By Lap 50, Blaney was leading followed by teammate Logano, Cole Custer, Matt DiBenedetto and Harvick while Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Byron, Preece and Bubba Wallace were in the top 10. A lap later, though, DiBenedetto stormed to the lead. Another two laps later, Preece moved his No. 37 Chevrolet to the lead. 

With the laps in the first stage dwindling, a majority of competitors within the lead pack started to establish their run for the top spot held by DiBenedetto. Entering the backstretch and on the final lap of the first stage, however, contact from Stenhouse turned Hamlin into third-place Logano, which sent Logano’s No. 22 AutoTrader Ford Mustang sideways and airborne after being hit by Stenhouse as Logano flipped over and spun in a circle on his roof before flipping back on all four wheels and coming to rest below the apron near Turn 3. Logano emerged uninjured following his accident, though his race concluded after leading 10 laps. In the midst of Logano’s wild ride, teammate Keselowski, Wallace and Stenhouse sustained damage.

The caution for the wreck concluded the first stage of the race, with DiBenedetto scored as the leader and calming his maiden stage victory in the Cup Series followed by Blaney, Elliott, Hamlin and Byron. Buescher, Bowman, McDowell, Harvick and Bell were running in the top 10.

Under the stage break, a majority of the leaders pitted while some like Ryan Newman, Suarez, Kaz Grala, Quin Houff, Yeley, Justin Haley, McLeod and Timmy Hill remained on the track. They all, though, pitted prior to the restart.

The second stage started on Lap 66 with Chase Elliott and Hamlin on the front row. When the field returned to the tri-oval and the start/finish line, Hamlin was back in the lead.

By Lap 75 and with the field fanning out to three lanes in a tight pack for the lead, Hamlin was scored as the leader followed by DiBenedetto, Byron, Preece and Chastain while Harvick, Truex, Kurt Busch, Elliott and Bell were in the top 10.

Nearly 10 laps later, a majority of Chevrolet competitors pitted under green. During the process, Suarez and Chastain were penalized for speeding on pit road.

By Lap 90, Hamlin was still out in front followed by DiBenedetto, Truex, Bell and Custer while Blaney, Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Harvick and Buescher were in the top 10. With the field spread out around the superspeedway, names like Elliott, Chastain and Suarez were pinned a lap behind the leaders.

A few laps later, a majority of the Ford competitors pitted under green. Not long after, the Toyota competitors pitted. Following the stops, Harvick and Buescher were nabbed with pit road speeding penalties. Hamlin, who overshot his pit stall during his stop, was also penalized for speeding on pit road. While serving his penalty, things went from bad to worse for Hamlin, who was busted with another pit road speeding penalty.

At the halfway mark on Lap 94, Preece emerged as the leader followed by Chevrolet competitors Byron, Kurt Busch, Bowman, Austin Dillon and Erik Jones.

By Lap 100, Preece continued to lead followed by Byron, Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto and Keselowski while Custer, McDowell, Kyle Busch, Wallace and Bell were in the top 10. Hamlin, following his pair of pit road speeding penalties, was mired back in 36th place and scored a lap behind the leaders. 

Four laps later, the caution returned due to fluid on the track that came from Kurt Busch’s No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE with smoke steaming out from Busch’s car. While nursing his car back to pit road, a fire broke out underneath Busch’s car and the 2004 Cup champion took his car to the garage to address an oil cooler issue.

Under caution, some like Bowman, Truex, Blaney, Reddick, Harvick, Buescher and Elliott pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track. During the pit stops, Harvick was penalized due to a crew member jumping over the wall too soon.

When the race restarted on Lap 109, Byron and DiBenedetto battled dead even for the lead, though Byron retained the top spot.

Prior to Lap 112, DiBenedetto and Kyle Busch made contact while battling for the lead exiting Turn 3, where DiBenedetto was trying to block Kyle Busch. Though both competitors dipped below the apron and lost the lead, both prevented their cars from spinning. At the front, Bubba Wallace returned to the lead.

With five laps remaining in the second stage, Wallace continued to lead followed by Keselowski, McDowell, Byron and Blaney as the field continued to battle in two lanes.

With two laps remaining in the stage, however, a multi-car wreck erupted entering the tri-oval when a bump from teammate Truex sent Hamlin, who was a lap down, bouncing off the outside wall and a chain reaction ensued behind with Truex, Bowman, Elliott and Byron wrecking on the frontstretch. 

The wreck was enough to end the second stage under caution as Bubba Wallace claimed his first stage victory in the Cup circuit. Keselowski charged his way to second place followed by McDowell, Kyle Busch, Preece, Blaney, Buescher, Stenhouse Bell and Harrison Burton.

Under the stage break, the majority of the leaders returned to pit road except for Newman, Grala, Yeley, McLeod and Custer. The first competitor to exit pit road in first was Blaney followed by Almirola, Wallace, McDowell, Kyle Busch and Keselowski. Shortly after, Newman, Grala, Yeley, McLeod and Custer pitted.

Prior to the restart, a majority of competitors returned to pit road to top off on fuel for the final stage.

With 62 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Blaney received a push from his friend Wallace to retain the top spot over Almirola and McDowell. With Wallace remaining on the inside lane, he was shuffled out of the battle for the lead due to a lack of competitors running on his lane. Meanwhile, Blaney retained the top spot on the outside line and with a bevy of cars behind him.

Shortly after, Blaney reported debris on his front grille despite leading the race. With Almirola moving his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang to the lead on Lap 131, Blaney was able to tuck behind Almirola’s car and remove the debris from his car.

With 50 laps remaining, Almirola continued to lead followed by Blaney, McDowell, Keselowski, Chris Buescher, DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Preece, Briscoe and Erik Jones, all of whom were among several competitors running in a single-file lane on the outside lane led by Blaney. Bubba Wallace was in 12th behind Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch was in 14th in front of teammate Bell, Harvick was in 21st followed by Newman and Truex, Elliott was in 25th and Byron was in 27th in front of Harrison Burton. Hamlin was in 34th, two laps behind, while Kurt Busch was in 36th, six laps behind.

Down to the final 40 laps of the event, Ross Chastain muscled his No. 42 Caregility Chevrolet into the lead with drafting help from teammate Kurt Busch, who was multiple laps behind. Kyle Busch moved into second place followed by teammate Bell while Almirola was shuffled back in fourth place despite leading the outside lane ahead of Blaney and McDowell.

With 35 laps remaining, the top-30 competitors were separated by less than two seconds. At the front, Chastain continued to lead followed by Kyle Busch and teammate Bell while Harvick mounted a challenge for the top spot on the outside lane.

Not long after, a wave of competitors led by Chastain reduced their speed on the bottom lane to pit under green. During the process, Stenhouse spun following a bump from Quin Houff and made light contact with the inside wall near the pit road entrance. Despite the incident, the race remained under green. Following the pit stops, Newman was penalized for speeding on pit road.

Back on the track and with 30 laps remaining, the top-10 positions were filled by Ford competitors led by Harvick. A lap later, another wave of competitors led by Harvick pitted under green. During this process, Newman was penalized a second time for speeding on pit road again.

With the field cycling through following the pit stops, Christopher Bell emerged as the leader followed by Chastain, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones. Harvick was shuffled back to sixth place followed by teammate Almirola, McDowell, Keselowski and Briscoe. With 26 laps remaining, though, Chastain reassumed the lead while Bell was shuffled back into fifth place.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, the top-18 competitors were separated by a second, with Chastain still leading followed by Kyle Busch and Erik Jones, who moved up to the outside lane in front of McDowell as he challenged for second place and more. 

With 18 laps remaining, Erik Jones muscled his No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead followed by DiBenedetto, Bubba Wallace, Chastain and Keselowski while Kyle Busch was in sixth.

A lap later, the caution flew due to a single-car incident in Turn 2 involving Quin Houff, an incident that occurred in front of the leaders as the leaders took evasive action to avoid the incident.

Under caution, some like Jones, DiBenedetto, Custer, Truex, Wallace, Kyle Busch, Reddick, Blaney and Kaz Grala remained on the track while others pitted for fuel to make it to the finish. By then, 27 of the 40-car field were scored on the lead lap.

With 12 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Jones retained the lead on the inside lane followed by Chastain and Wallace, but DiBenedetto fought back on the outside lane with drafting help from Truex. When the field returned to the start/finish line, DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang for the iconic Wood Brothers Racing team emerged with the lead.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, DiBenedetto was leading followed by Truex, Kyle Busch, Blaney, Keselowski, Harvick and Jones. Shortly after, Penske drivers Blaney and Keselowski lined up behind DiBenedetto.

Behind, Truex, who was running towards the front in the final laps, fell out of the lead pack and pitted due to a flat tire.

With five laps remaining, DiBenedetto continued to lead followed by Blaney, Keselowski, Harvick and McDowell. Meanwhile, Byron started to mount a challenge on the inside lane with drafting help from Jones, Kyle Busch and Chastain.

Two laps later and with the field starting to fan out with competitors establishing their run to the front, the caution returned due to a tire carcass spotted on the frontstretch, which came off of Truex’s car after he lost another tire.

Under caution, some like Kyle Busch and Wallace pitted while the rest led by DiBenedetto remained on the track.

With the race sent into overtime, the race restarted with DiBenedetto and Blaney on the front row. At the start, DiBenedetto retained the lead through Turns 1 and 2. Through the backstretch, however, Harvick drafted Blaney to the front, but DiBenedetto retained the lead through Turn 3 and the tri-oval as he started the final lap of the race.

With the field bunched up and fanned out to two lanes entering Turns 1 and 2, Keselowski drew his No. 2 MoneyLion Ford Mustang alongside DiBenedetto and received a push from McDowell and Harvick to take the lead while DiBenedetto had no drafting help on the outside lane.

Through Turn 3, Keselowski continued to lead followed by McDowell and Harvick while DiBenedetto was split in a three-wide battle with Erik Jones and Byron as the field fanned out to three lanes.

Entering the tri-oval, Jones spun following contact with Kaz Grala and made contact with the outside wall as the field scattered to avoid him. With Chastain also spinning coming to the start/finish line, McDowell made a move to the outside of Keselowski, but it was not enough as Keselowski managed to fend off McDowell and a hard-charging Byron to cross the finish line with the lead and the victory, having led only the final lap of the race.

With his first victory of the 2021 season and the 35th of his Cup career, Keselowski tied Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon for the second-most victories at Talladega (six). In addition, he became the third Team Penske competitor and the ninth different competitor to record a win through the first 10 Cup races of this season.

“Man, what an awesome day today to bring the MoneyLion Ford Mustang into Victory Lane,” Keselowski said. “The whole race I had a couple opportunities to take the lead, but I just kept thinking, ‘Man, keep your car in one piece.’ We’ve been so close here and it just didn’t seem to want to come together here the last few years and I’ve been on kind of a four-year drought here, but it’s nice to get number six. I would have never dreamed I’d tie Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. here. That’s something. Those guys are really legends. I’m just really proud of my team. We had an accident there early and they recovered and got it fixed up to where I could keep running…That’s pretty cool.”

Behind Keselowski, William Byron edged Michael McDowell by 0.001 seconds to claim the runner-up spot. The third-place finish marked McDowell’s second consecutive top-five result on a superspeedway venue, which also comes after he won this year’s Daytona 500.

“I felt like it was pretty close,” McDowell said. “I am just so thankful to everybody at this Front Row Motorsports team. We have fast superspeedway cars. This Ford Mustang was fast. It has been a great season for us. I really felt like I was in a good spot again working with Brad and drug back off of him coming off of Turn 4. I thought I would have the run, but just didn’t suck him down enough. It was a great run and I am glad there is another Ford Mustang in Victory Lane. I am thankful to all our partners. It has been a great year. To get a top-five and to be running in the top-10 and have a win says a lot for this team and [team owner] Bob Jenkins for giving me the opportunity.”

Harvick finished fourth followed by Matt DiBenedetto, who led 28 laps and was in position to claim his first Cup career victory. While he did not leave Talladega as a winner, DiBenedetto was still smiling as he recorded his first top-five result of the season.

“It’s tough, but it’s just all so circumstantial,” DiBenedetto said. “We talked about it a lot before the race and it’s tough. Our day will come. I’m just lucky to drive this thing and have the support from everybody. The fans, they are so awesome. Driving for the Wood Brothers is really a dream come true. Gosh, it’s hard to come so close to so many of these things. The Fords are so fast. They believe in me, the whole Ford camp. They do an excellent job. The Mustangs are great…Our day will come. We’ll get there. I just appreciate the support from everybody.

Kaz Grala recorded an impressive sixth-place result in his third Cup career start while Reddick, teammate Austin Dillon, Blaney and Custer finished in the top 10.

Rookies Chase Briscoe and Anthony Alfredo finished 11th and 12th, Chastain finished 16th after pounding the inside wall head-on while sliding across the finish line, Wallace finished 19th behind JGR’s Bell and Kyle Busch and Harrison Burton finished 20th in his Cup debut. Erik Jones settled in 27th following his wreck on the final lap.

There were 35 lead changes for 17 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 34 laps. 

Despite his issues at Talladega, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by 87 points over teammate Truex, 93 over Logano, 95 over Byron and 100 over Blaney.

Results.

1. Brad Keselowski, one lap led

2. William Byron, 12 laps led

3. Michael McDowell

4. Kevin Harvick, 12 laps led

5. Matt DiBenedetto, 28 laps led, Stage 1 winner

6. Kaz Grala

7. Tyler Reddick

8. Austin Dillon

9. Ryan Blaney, 11 laps led

10. Cole Custer

11. Chase Briscoe, one lap led

12. Anthony Alfredo

13. Ryan Newman, two laps led

14. Ryan Preece, nine laps led

15. Aric Almirola, 16 laps led

16. Ross Chastain, 12 laps led

17. Christopher Bell, two laps led

18. Kyle Busch, six laps led

19. Bubba Wallace, 16 laps led, Stage 2 winner

20. Harrison Burton

21. Chris Buescher

22. Corey LaJoie

23. Daniel Suarez

24. Chase Elliott, three laps led

25. B.J. McLeod

26. J.J. Yeley

27. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident, seven laps led

28. Cody Ware, one lap down

29. Timmy Hill, one lap down

30. Justin Haley, one lap down

31. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down 

32. Denny Hamlin, three laps down, 43 laps led

33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., five laps down

34. Joey Gase, five laps down

35. Kurt Busch, six laps down

36. Josh Bilicki, 11 laps down

37. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident

38. Alex Bowman – OUT, Dvp

39. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, 10 laps led

40. Kyle Larson – OUT, Engine

Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is a trip to the midwest at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, May 2, with the event to occur at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Mustang Takes Keselowski to Sixth Talladega Win

By
Official Release
-

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series — Geico 500
Talladega Superspeedway | Sunday, April 25, 2021

MUSTANG TAKES KESELOWSKI TO SIXTH CAREER CUP WIN AT TALLADEGA

  • Brad Keselowski won his first race of the season today.
  • Team Penske has now won 9 of the last 14 Cup races at Talladega.
  • Keselowski now has 6 career Cup victories at Talladega Superspeedway.
  • The win is the 35th of his Cup Series career and 26th with Ford.
  • Today’s win is Ford’s 708th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
  • Of Team Penske’s 82 MENCS wins with Ford, 55 have come since rejoining Ford in 2013.

Ford Finishing Results
1st – Brad Keselowski
3rd – Michael McDowell
4th – Kevin Harvick
5th – Matt DiBenedetto
9th – Ryan Blaney
10th – Cole Custer
11th – Chase Briscoe
12th – Anthony Alfredo
13th – Ryan Newman
15th – Aric Almirola
21st – Chris Buescher
25th – BJ McLeod
29th – Timmy Hill
34th – Joey Gase
36th – Josh Bilicki
39th – Joey Logano

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 MoneyLion Ford Mustang — VICTORY LANE INTERVIEWS

YOU ONLY LED ONE LAP, BUT WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WHEN THE BOTTOM LANE OPENED UP? “Merry Christmas. What an awesome day today to bring the MoneyLion Ford Mustang into Victory Lane. The whole race I had a couple opportunities to take the lead, but I just kept thinking, ‘Man, keep your car in one piece.’ We’ve been so close here and it just didn’t seem to want to come together here the last few years and I’ve been on kind of a four-year drought here, but it’s nice to get number six. I would have never dreamed I’d tie Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. here. That’s something. Those guys are really legends. I’m just really proud of my team. We had an accident there early and they recovered and got it fixed up to where I could keep running. My crew chief, Jeremy Bullins, had a lot of confidence. I told him, ‘I want to come in and put four tires on this thing,’ and he said, ‘Yep, go ahead.’ And that really helped a bunch at the end. Other than that, I’m just so excited. My daughters and my wife are here. They’re in the motorhome lot. I don’t know if they’ll get to come to Victory Lane, but if not, they got to see daddy win, so that’s pretty cool.”

WERE YOU AWARE HOW BIG OF A RUN THEY HAD AT THE END? “Oh yeah. I saw it coming and I was like, ‘Oh God, please.’ If I can just get to this line. Couldn’t they just put it on the other side like Daytona? But that’s their job. Everybody is just racing hard, pushing hard and that’s Talladega.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE WHEN THINGS WORK IN YOUR FAVOR IN A GREEN-WHITE-CHECKER? “If you’re gonna lead 187 and not lead the last one, that’s not so good. I think I’ll take the last one and that’s exactly how it worked out, leading the last one. It opened up, the lane did. Matt went to block the 12 and I just barely got inside of him with a huge run. I got a great push from Michael McDowell, which was really helpful and appreciated, so just a big day.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS MANUFACTURER TEAMWORK? “It is. You feel like you’ve got the wind at your back with that, so it all came together very nicely and the Fords are real strong.”

YOUR SIXTH WIN HERE AT TALLADEGA, TYING SOME LEGENDS. “That’s very cool. I want to keep going, but I’m really proud to be there with Dale Jr. and Jeff Gordon — a long, long ways to ever catch Dale Earnhardt. I don’t even know if that’s possible, but to be on the same list is pretty cool.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang — WOULD YOU DO THAT LAST LAP ALL OVER AGAIN? “Oh, man. You say that after every one of these races. It’s tough, but it’s just all so circumstantial. We talked about it a lot before the race and it’s tough. Our day will come. I’m just lucky to drive this thing and have the support from everybody. The fans, they are so awesome. Driving for the Wood Brothers is really a dream come true. Gosh, it’s hard to come so close to so many of these things. The Fords are so fast. They believe in me, the whole Ford camp. They do an excellent job. The Mustangs are great. Motorcraft, Quick Lane, Menards and all of our vendor partners, I tell you that because all those people believed in me and I love what I do. Our day will come. We’ll get there. I just appreciate the support from everybody.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang — HOW CLOSE DID YOU FEEL LIKE THIS ONE WAS FOR YOU? “I felt like it was pretty close. I am just so thankful to everybody at this Front Row Motorsports team. We have fast superspeedway cars. This Ford Mustang was fast. It has been a great season for us. I really felt like I was in a good spot again working with Brad (Keselowski) and drug back off of him coming off of Turn 4. I thought I would have the run but just didn’t suck him down enough. It was a great run and I am glad there is another Ford Mustang in victory lane. I am thankful to all our partners. It has been a great year. To get a top-five and to be running in the top-10 and have a win says a lot for this team and Bob Jenkins for giving me the opportunity.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Busch Dog Brew Ford Mustang — THIS RACE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING DIDN’T IT? “It did. We definitely didn’t like to see the 22 flying around in the air right in front of us but our Dog Brew Ford Mustang was good all day. We raced all day. I kind of slid the left front there and got a speeding penalty at one point but we were able to stay on the lead lap. Everybody did a great job. The car is rolling two speedway races in a row and I think that is a first for us. We just need a little momentum. The cars have run good on the speedways. Hopefully next week we have everything together at Kansas and we can go have a good day.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 AutoTrader Ford Mustang (Involved in Accident on Lap 60) — HUGE HIT THERE JOEY, WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU SEE THE REPLAY THERE? “I guess I don’t know exactly what to think. It is a product of this racing. On one hand I am so proud to drive a Cup car that is safe, and that I can go through a crash like that and get out and speak about it. On one hand I am made about being in the crash and on the other I am happy to be alive. On another hand I am wondering when we are going to stop because this is dangerous doing what we are doing. I got a roll bar in my head. That is not okay. I am one hit away from the same situation Ryan Newman just went through. I just don’t feel like that is acceptable. A lot of it is the big spoiler and the big runs and all the pushing. It is nobody’s fault. Denny (Hamlin) is trying to go and the 47 is trying to go. It is a product of this racing. We have to fix it though. Someone already got hurt and we are still doing it, so that’s not real smart. At the same time, I am appreciative of driving a car that is this safe and what Team Penske has done for the safety of these cars so that I can live to talk about it and go again. I got lucky that I didn’t get hit while I was in the air. It is unfortunate for our Autotrader Mustang but we will go on but it won’t be a good starting spot next week.”

POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang — “Obviously, a disappointing end there. I shouldn’t say disappointing, it was a solid day, take a top five and had a stage win, so that’s great. The car was really fast. All the Fords were super good. That was awesome. Our car led great. Ryan really pushed. Our Penske teammates did an excellent job helping us get that stage win, so that was huge. Big credit to them and big for our points situation, so just tough ending. I jumped up in front of Ryan and he kind of got spit out and hung out and some people were grabbing his quarter panel and such.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Sylvania Ford Mustang — “Overall, not a bad day. Decent stage points. I really would have liked to not see a caution at the end of that thing with Matt, me and Brad all lined up there and a bunch of Fords. It would have been nice to see where we all wound up, but the top on green-white-checkers I never think is any good because the bottom always wins out on that because the bottom lane they can’t go anywhere. They can’t move up, and then guys that are in the second lane they just bail to the top because guys in the back are trying to get all the spots you can, so that just kind of makes the top fall apart. It just kind of fell apart on us and then couldn’t get any help from behind, but, overall, nice to still be rolling at the end of that thing and not a bad finish, not a bad day.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO CONTINUED — LOGANO SAID THE RUNS ARE TOO BIG AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS KIND OF RACING. CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO MAKE THIS SAFER? “I wouldn’t want to get into anything too controversial, but I actually had a random thought when I was in the car and you think about how big the runs are because the big spoilers has changed the racing a lot and it makes it pretty hairy with the runs being that big. With the Next Gen car, I think it’s a great opportunity to look at it and evaluate it would be my answer because the runs are very big and it does get pretty treacherous and a little aggressive, but, overall, glad the safety of the cars is so excellent because of all the work they’ve done over the years. NASCAR has done a really good job on the safety of the car, so that would be my neutral answer.”

RYAN BLANEY CONTINUED — LOGANO SAID THE RUNS ARE TOO BIG AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS KIND OF RACING. CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO MAKE THIS SAFER? “We’ve seen since we changed the package with this big old spoiler on there and things like that, the runs are just massive and locking bumpers. Things aren’t very stable to drive when you’re getting pushed and people throwing blocks that you might have been able to throw a few years ago, but you can’t throw them now. And then going back to Joey’s flip, I didn’t see it, but I’m guessing he was pushing me to Matt and that means the 11 was pushing him and I get to Matt and hit him in the bumper and can’t go no where. Then it all just accordions and people get turned I guess. I think that comes up a lot, just because the run is so big. They’re coming way faster behind the leader and it just all stacks up, so a handful of years ago, even three years ago, there was a different kind of plate racing. The runs weren’t as big with that package, but I thought it was a still pretty decent, so, I don’t know, you kind of just see where the new car leads to and see how it drives, but I will agree that the runs are massive and they’re really hard to stay stable, especially when you’ve got somebody on your bumper. Luckily, he was all right and he didn’t get hit at a bad angle, but I’m not sure how you fix it other than going back to what a few years ago was.”

MATT DIBENEDETTO CONTINUED — HOW TOUGH IS IT GETTING TO BE IN THE SENSE OF MORAL VICTORIES? “I think as I get older my perspective on a lot of things gets better, so the way I look at it is, yeah, it’s disappointing to come close so many times, not just today because this is Talladega and a lot of things happen that’s crazy, but to come close — a lot of my career has consisted of a lot of that and some heartbreaks and it’s tough. The way that I look at it is I focus on what’s in my control and focus on the positives. I’m driving fast cars. We’re in position to win and I know that if we keep doing that, like I said, our day will definitely come and pertaining to this race specifically, I’ll drive myself crazy if I just look back at it, replay exactly what happened and will never let myself live it down. We did the best job we can. Circumstances are crazy, especially with how big the runs are and all that, so it’s nothing to beat ourselves up over. We had a stage win and a good day, and I know that although my career has consisted of a lot of heartbreaks our day will come, so I don’t look at it in a negative way.”

YOU WERE IN A POSITION TO WIN THIS RACE LAST FALL. WHAT DID YOU TAKE FROM THAT EXPERIENCE TO HELP OR THAT MIGHT HAVE HELPED YOU IN THIS CASE? “I think overall we continue to get better. Me and my spotter, Doug Campbell, he deserves a lot of credit because he sees a lot more than I do. He’s calling a lot of the moves and what to make and where to go and working with our teammates, which, obviously, everyone saw we did a good job of that. I think overall, to answer your question, we’ve actually gotten better at our race craft and I think also it’s a big credit to not only my spotter and us working hard on that stuff and watching film and studying, but it’s a big credit to my Penske teammates. I’m not just saying that. It really is because they’re so good — Brad, Joey and Ryan are so good at these plate races at their race craft. It’s like I look at it as a chess match and then it makes you really have to step up your game and you can watch them and lean on them or have them to race with, work with, pick their brains, study, so I think we’ve just gotten better at our race craft, which puts us all in position to have a shot at winning these things when it counts.”

DID YOU FEEL GOOD IN YOUR POSITION GOING INTO THE LAST LAP? “I don’t know. I was kind of 50/50 on that. Being the leader is tough and I never feel good at Talladega until we cross the line winning it because so much can happen. Last year we were leading coming off of four and that’s still not close enough. Like Ryan said, I felt best before that caution came out when it was the three of us in control of the race up front. I felt pretty good about that and didn’t really want to see the caution, but it is what it is.”

WERE YOU TRYING TO BLOCK RYAN OR BREAK UP THEIR DRAFT LATE IN THE RACE? “I’ve got to go back and replay it and watch it myself. It all seems like a little bit of a blur because it all happened so quick, but my focus and intention behind the wheel was picking up Ryan because he was a great pusher, a great help. Obviously, Brad was really good too on the bottom, but Ryan had a run and a good push and I was actually just trying to pick him up and hoping we could get some steam and go to the front and take control of the race, get up there, so that was my intention and my spotter, Doug, I put a lot of trust in him and he called me to go to the top and I can only see so much, but I saw Ryan with a run, so I went up there to pick that up, but, really, ultimately, Ryan got spit out a little bit and drug back some and that’s what he was talking about as far as when you’re on the outside you are kind of at that mercy. The guys on the bottom lane are forced to stick together and keep pushing, so there are things obviously you’d always do over if you didn’t win this thing that you would change, but that’s pretty much for everybody, except for the winner.”

RYAN BLANEY CONTINUED — DID THE TOPICS YOU DISCUSSED IN THE TEAM PENSKE SIT DOWN COME INTO YOUR MIND AT ALL IN THE FINAL LAPS? “We never even got to that point. I mean, yeah, it worked out great to where we were all three lined up together, and then we were just kind of waiting and biding our time to see what it looked like getting the white flag or if another group made a move before that we would have all tried to protect it, so we were just all three together, which was nice. Myself, I was probably gonna wait until off four or something if we do make a move. You never know how it was gonna play out, but I was content staying in line until the end and then trying to make sure that one of us won the race.”

CHEVY NCS AT TALLADEGA: Post-Race Notes and Quotes

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NASCAR CUP SERIES
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
GEICO 500
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
APRIL 25, 2021

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
2nd WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
6th KAZ GRALA, NO. 16 HYPERICE CAMARO ZL1 1LE
7th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ROLAND CAMARO ZL1 1LE
8th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE
14th RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 KROGER/REESE’S CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Brad Keselowski (Ford)
2nd William Byron (Chevrolet)
3rd Michael McDowell (Ford)
4th Kevin Harvick (Ford)
5th Matt DiBenedetto (Ford)

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Kansas Speedway for the Buschy McBusch Race 400 on Sunday, May 2, at 3 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2nd
“Finished second here at Talladega (Superspeedway) in the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet. It was a good race for us. I felt like we had a shot there at the end, just not quite enough racecar to lead the race I felt like. But it was a really good day. We had some damage, but the guys did a great job fixing it. We’ll go to Kansas (Speedway) and hopefully have a really fast car there.”

KAZ GRALA, NO. 16 HYPERICE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 6th
KAZ, YOU DON’T GET TO RUN A LOT OF THESE RACES, BUT WHEN YOU DO, YOU MAKE THE MOST OF IT.
“I try to Regan (Smith) and I feel like we did today. We had a really good Hyerice Chevrolet. Kaulig Racing did a great job. They won the NASCAR Xfinity Race yesterday, so big weekend for them all around. But I was just happy to get to pilot this thing. It is few and far between when I do, but I try to make an impression on my few starts and I feel like today was a good step in the right direction. Didn’t have the best luck in Daytona, but we rebounded here. I think that’s a great boost in momentum for us and hopefully it’ll be just another piece of the puzzle for me to get a full-time ride sometime down the road.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ROLAND CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th
“We had a really strong No. 8 Roland Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE today and were able to walk away with a finish that showed it. After being caught up in a wreck so early at Daytona this year, our strategy was different for this race with the goal of making it to the end. My whole team did a great job today with sticking with that strategy and racing smart with the big picture in mind to be there at the checkered flag. Almost all day long I could get the car to do whatever I wanted, which was great. The run right before the green-white-checkered felt like the car completely flipped its switch and didn’t drive anything like it did for the majority of the race, so we’ll have to figure out what changed there. Luckily, we were still able to make it through the chaos of the last lap and come away with a solid seventh-place finish. Overall, a good day for our team.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th
“That was a crazy race today in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Talladega Superspeedway. We were really good to start the race, and then for portions of the race we couldn’t make anything work unless I was on the top. We made some moves at the end of the race to get that eighth-place finish. Everyone was all over the place and that was some work. We hit someone on the outside quarter panel, but I’m not even sure who it was. We were all wrecking on the backstretch, but somehow it didn’t happen. I don’t know how we all came out of that. It was crazy. I’m proud of everyone at RCR and ECR for working so hard to get us that awesome finish. We’ll go back to Welcome and look over our Chevy to get it even better for Daytona.”

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 CAREGILITY/YORKTEL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th
“A very hard hit at the end of the race. Proud of the effort from everyone though. We tore up two cars at Daytona, so we had to bring a new car here; a big increase in speed, handling, and drivability. I had more of a race car to go race with. That’s what this team and season is all about. I can’t thank everyone enough honestly for building a safe race car, that was a very hard hit. But we led some laps, race around guys all day, worked well with Kurt (Busch); my teammate as laps down and pushed me to the lead! Good effort by Team Chevy. It was awesome to have Caregility and Yorktel on the car, they were here in the suite. An unfortunate ending which is how this place normally is but proud of the effort today”.

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 UNITED STATES AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 27th
“It was a solid day for our No. 43 United States Air Force Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. It felt good to get up front and lead some laps at the Talladega Superspeedway. Unfortunately, we got turned-around coming to the finish line, and did not get the finish our Richard Petty Motorsports team was capable of. We will regroup, and go on to the Kansas Speedway.”

KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 35th
“Just a really difficult day. We started out pretty good with the Monster Energy Chevy, just trying to stay clean. The guys made some nice adjustments to get the car handling. We ended up having an issue and had to replace the oil cooler. We just can’t seem to catch the breaks that we need. We just need to dig-in and keep working, the results will follow”.

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 118; Finished 38th
“Obviously this is not the way we wanted to end our day. Things like this just happen at places like Talladega. We had a good Ally Chevrolet today and Greg (Ives) had some really good adjustment calls on pit road. Just not our day today. This team is really looking forward to going to Kansas next week. That is a really good track for us and hopefully we can rebound in a week.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

RCR Post Race Report – GEICO 500

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Austin Dillon Capitalizes on Wild Ending at Talladega Superspeedway To Earn Top-10 Finish in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

Finish: 8th
Start: 11th
Points: 12th

“That was a crazy race today in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Talladega Superspeedway. We were really good to start the race, and then for portions of the race we couldn’t make anything work unless I was on the top. We made some moves at the end of the race to get that eighth-place finish. Everyone was all over the place and that was some work. We hit someone on the outside quarter panel, but I’m not even sure who it was. We were all wrecking on the backstretch, but somehow it didn’t happen. I don’t know how we all came out of that. It was crazy. I’m proud of everyone at RCR and ECR for working so hard to get us that awesome finish. We’ll go back to Welcome and look over our Chevy to get it even better for Daytona.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and No. 8 Roland Chevy Team Survive and Capitalize To Earn Top-10 Finish at Talladega Superspeedway

Finish: 7th
Start: 20th
Points: 22nd

“We had a really strong No. 8 Roland Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE today and were able to walk away with a finish that showed it. After being caught up in a wreck so early at Daytona this year, our strategy was different for this race with the goal of making it to the end. My whole team did a great job today with sticking with that strategy and racing smart with the big picture in mind to be there at the checkered flag. Almost all day long I could get the car to do whatever I wanted, which was great. The run right before the green-white-checkered, it felt like the car completely flipped its switch and didn’t drive anything like it did for the majority of the race, so we’ll have to figure out what changed there. Luckily, we were still able to make it through the chaos of the last lap and come away with a solid seventh-place finish. Overall, a good day for our team.” -Tyler Reddick

Toyota Racing NCS Post-Race Recap — Talladega 4.25.21

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BELL LEADS TOYOTA AT TALLADEGA
Bubba Wallace scores first career stage win

TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 25, 2021) – Christopher Bell (17th) was the highest finishing Toyota in today’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon. Bubba Wallace drove his Camry to his first career stage win at the end of the second stage of the race.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Talladega Superspeedway
Race 10 of 36 – 500.1 miles, 188 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Brad Keselowski*
2nd, William Bryon*
3rd, Michael McDowell*
4th, Kevin Harvick*
5th, Matt DiBenedetto*
17th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
18th, KYLE BUSCH
19th, BUBBA WALLACE
20th, HARRISON BURTON
31st, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
32nd, DENNY HAMLIN
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

HARRISON BURTON, No. 96 DEX Imaging Toyota Camry, Gaunt Brothers Racing
Finishing Position: 20th

Top-20 in you first career Cup Series race. How was the run overall?

“It was a lot of learning. It was pretty fun, just a different level of competition when you’re against these guys. It makes you better when you go back to Xfinity, hopefully, and it makes me a better driver. Just happy I had the chance to come out here and do it. I very rarely get emotional or that excited before races, because I’m so focused but this weekend was pretty neat. I’m thankful for the opportunity to do it. It was pretty awesome and can’t wait to do it again someday.”

Was there anything that surprised you?

“I think just the way that the runs come. Talladega is so tough in general. It’s just a lot going on at once. Learning a new team, spotter and crew chief with all of that going on too is a big challenge, but it was the same but different, if that makes any sense at all. It was definitely different. The level of intensity was different, but the main fundamentals are basically the same.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit ToyotaNewsroom.com

CHEVROLET NTT INDYCAR SERIES: CHEVY POWERED DRIVERS CAPTURE SEVEN OF TOP-12 FINISHERS AT ST. PETE.

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CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
POST RACE RECAP
APRIL 25, 2021

JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND SIMON PAGENAUD PUT CHEVY ON PODIUM ON THE STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG
CHEVROLET DRIVERS CAPTURE SEVEN OF TOP-12 FINISHERS

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA (April 25, 2021) – Chevrolet drivers captured two steps on the podium in Race 2 of the NTT INDYCAR Series season, and scored seven of the top-12 finishers on the challenging street course in St; Petersburg, Florida.

Josef Newgarden was looking for a three peat on the Streets of St. Petersburg, but had to settle for runner-up. The two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion and two-time winner at St. Petersburg needed a strong race to start his run for another title. With a first-lap accident at Barber, a solid podium finish was just what he needed to get his season back in championship form.

Simon Pagenaud, driving the No. 22 Menards/Australia Gold Team Penske Chevrolet, had a very steady race that netted him a third place finish and another solid points day.

Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet, recovered from a disappointing qualifying effort that put him 20th on the grid. The former Series’ champion and Indianapolis 500 winner marched his way to eighth in the finishing order.

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, continues to take lessons learned from his rookie year and apply them to his second full-time season. He battled all day in the top-half of the field and brought home a solid ninth place in the final finishing order/

It looked like a promising hometown race for four-time Series’ champion Sebastien Bourdais, but first lap contact as well as other issues relegated him to 10th in the final order.

Rookie-of-the-Year contender Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, had another strong showing for his first INDYCAR street race. He ran competitively in the top-15 for virtually the entire 100-lap race and brought home an 11th place finish.

Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, had a strong showing in only his second race with the team. His 12th place finish gives him a solid foundation to build on as the season progresses.

Colton Herta was the race winner.
Next on the schedule is the doubleheader on April 30-May 1 at Texas Motor Speedway.
TEAM CHEVY FINISHERS:

  1. Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske
  2. Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards/Australian Gold Team Penske
  3. Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske
  4. Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Ed Carpenter Racing
  5. Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing
  6. Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Dex Imaging Team Penske
  7. Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP
  8. Conor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing
  9. Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP
  10. Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators USA AJ Foyt Racing
  11. Max Chilton, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin

DRIVER QUOTES:
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 2nd
IT GOT A BIT CLOSE AT THE END. TALK US THROUGH THE IDEA THAT YOU KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE TO PUT ON THE REDS AT THE END. WHAT WAS YOUR THINKING GOING INTO THAT FINAL STINT?
“Well, we lost a little too much ground in that second stint, really; to capitalize with the reds. And then we had the caution, which almost gifted us another chance. And I just didn’t want to over-extend myself today. I felt like I was close to an opportunity, but Colton (Herta, race winner) was really good. He was doing a great job on the restarts. It was tough to get tire temps. So, I pushed really hard right there in those two initial restarts. I didn’t have quite the runs I needed, so I didn’t want to risk anything. But a good day. I’m really happy with Chevy’s performance and thankful for all their work; and to have Hitachi on and get a podium is really nice here to start our year off. So, congrats to Colton. It was a great rebound for both of us. I feel bad about what happened last week, so I’m really happy that he got back on it today and had a very deserved victory. I wish we could have fought him a little bit more. I think we were just lacking a little bit.”

GREAT REBOUND FROM LAST WEEK. WAS THAT PART OF THE IDEA ABOUT NOT OVER-EXTENDING AND WHAT YOU WERE THINKING?
“Yeah, if I have an opportunity I’m going to go for the win. I was very close to having just enough of that opportunity. I think I was just a little shy of it. So, I didn’t want to force something that wasn’t there today. It’s not the day to do that. But I’m happy with the podium. We obviously want to win but we’re on the board now.

“I was close but I think he (Colton Herta) definitely had us covered. We had a good opportunity with those cautions bringing us back into the mix. I just didn’t want to over extend myself if the opportunity wasn’t perfect. And I didn’t feel like it wasn’t the perfect opportunity to make the pass. I looked for it, it just wasn’t there. Podium is pretty nice. Would have liked to have that third win, but we are back in the war and that’s what we needed after last week.”
SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS/AUSTRALIAN GOLD TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 3rd
YOU’VE GOT A BEAUTIFUL NEW GOLD LIVERY AND ELVIS-STYLE GLASSES, AND YOU END UP ON THE PODIUM. THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THE IDEA, RIGHT?
“Yes, Australian Gold. I’m glad we had some sunglasses and sunscreen this weekend. It was a hot race. But we’re very happy with the end.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN HAD TO USE THE REDS. YOU HAD A CHOICE AND PUT THEM ON. DO YOU THINK ULTIMATELY THAT WAS RIGHT IN THE END?
“Yeah, it was great strategy. We really had a shot on restarts, but it was too slippery on the inside to go for it. I noticed it when I tried to pass Jack (Harvey). But really when I lost the race was at the beginning of the first stint but overall, I think it was a great performance by the No. 22 Chevy Australian Gold team. That was a great performance. I think on street courses we could be very strong. I can’t wait for the oval, especially Indy and Texas.”

IT WASN’T THAT LONG AGO THAT YOU WERE ON THE PODIUM, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN 2021
“Yeah, we finished really well here. I think we finished sixth last year. And then we made some more improvement over the winter. The whole team is giving us a lot of support to give us the best cars out there. So, thanks to them and thanks to Chevy for giving us all the horsepower we need. I’m excited about the podium. Very good street course run. Awesome. Very happy all weekend. I couldn’t ask for a better car. Great strategy. Fantastic looking car. It made social media for sure. Australian Gold is a new partner for Menards. I hope We get to see that gold car more often.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 8TH AFTER STARTING 20TH:
“Yeah, really solid day for us to get up there to P8. It was inside the top 10 and that was our goal in starting the race. Obviously qualifying was pretty disappointing, but yeah, solid pit stops today. We tried to catch a few yellows and finish in the top five but it just didn’t work out. We passed a lot of cars on track and the car did really well, so we were very happy to get the Verizon 5G Chevy in the top 10. Really good day.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX/AUTOGEEK CHEVROLET – FINISHED 9TH
“So, a pretty tough day here in the office. But you know, a Top 10, P9. I had a hard lock-up on the red tires, which wasn’t ideal. But again, I learned so much. A good points day, but not an easy day at the office. Not much to complain about. It was very, very tough, obviously. But we survived, and I’m fully ready for Texas next weekend.”
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 10TH: “Not the best of day here in St. Pete for round two for the INDYCAR Series. Our No. 14 ROKIT Chevrolet suffered some damage when I misjudged the gap between myself and Simon (Pagenaud) and the race was a long drive from there. We had some not-so-great sequences with a few hiccups in the pits and then I made some mistakes. So unfortunately started fifth and finished 10th and it was not what we were looking for today, but we got some points and we brought it home.”
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 DEX IMAGING TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 11TH: “Yeah, overall a good day for us in the DEX Imaging Chevy. It was a full-on race, very hot, very humid and one of the most physical races I have ever done. Solid race from our end and I was probably a little bit too safe at the start. I was just trying to keep my front wing on. It was pretty forceful out there and a lot of the veterans around me were just using a bit more of their experience on colder tires. We got around in the first stint and we pitted at the right time and we were actually on a very alternative strategy there, that could have almost put us in the lead. Unfortunately there was a couple of spinners towards the middle of that race. And our team reacted and we pitted and we did the right thing on that strategy, just unfortunately there was no yellow. We didn’t use the speed we had in the clear air to really get going, but for me right now its continuously finishing races. Finishing P 11 is a great run for us and we will continue to build on that and hopefully come the end of the year we will be bigger, better and stronger. Just want to thank DEX Imaging for their support and am excited for the next few races.”

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – FINISHED 12TH
“I just finished a long race here at St. Pete. I thought it was okay. It wasn’t really anything fantastic. We’re going to have to do some bigger things on the car to compete at the front. We could follow the field but couldn’t really get forward. It’s so tight in the field; if you don’t have that little extra it’s kind of hard to move forward. But it feels good to finish the race and get some points and move on to Texas where I think we have a good chance to get some good points at those two races.”

NEWGARDEN AND PAGENAUD ZOOM CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
THE MODERATOR: Thanks for joining us today here for our Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete post-race press conference. We’ve been joined by our second- and third-place finishers, Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, and Simon Pagenaud, driver of the No. 22 Menard’s Australian Gold Team Penske Chevrolet, as well.
Gentlemen, thanks for joining us. Josef, we’ll start with you. A chance to get three back-to-back to back wins, finished second, obviously that’s disappointing, but tell us about your day. You had a good chance to get that third win.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, just a little short today on finding that Victory Lane one more time. Kind of sad now that I think about it. It would have been nice to put three in a row together. That would have been pretty sweet. But it was important for us to get on the board. I said we needed to do that last weekend. We didn’t accomplish that. But a good bounceback by the entire crew and the team, and to get some good points is really what we needed today, so we accomplished that.
Now we can get our season off the ground, get going to Texas and feeling good about things. But pretty happy about what we put together.
I think team Chevy did a really nice job doing their homework, and I think us as a group we put in a lot of effort this off-season and found some good pace. We were in the mix today without a doubt. We were in the fight, just came up a little bit short. But I think a lot of the work from all the people at Team Penske is paying off, and it’s good to get a podium finish for team Chevy and Hitachi.

THE MODERATOR: Simon, disappointing weekend for you last week at Barber, but great finish for you on the podium with your very fancy Australian Gold Team Penske Chevrolet. Talk about your day.
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, first of all, great weekend, a gold livery that made a lot of headlines. So thanks to Team Penske, Australian Gold for coming along, and giving it a bit of joy like that with livery is exactly what racing is about. It was a lot of fun. We had some special glasses, as well, just to note.
But overall great performance all weekend. Thanks to the whole team for working on the street course package as hard as it did with team Chevy, and overall great performance. I think very pleased with third place. It’s a really good hope for the championship knowing how good we’re going to be on oval.

Q. After last week’s crash you sounded not only disappointed for yourself but also that you got some of the other title contenders involved in it like Colton. In some ways did you kind of feel good that both you and him were able to fight it out today, because you both kind of needed a rebound from last week?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, definitely. I was really pleased for Colton, for him to have a solid day. I think him and his crew were certainly deserving of the victory. They were very strong. Just a touch better than us I would say on the day today. They worked hard, and it was nice to get them get a bounceback event, too. They got caught up in the mess last week through no fault of their own. I felt pretty bad. It was just one of those things. It’s tough to have a bad weekend, and when you affect others it makes it double tough.
Yeah, pleased for both of us, I guess, but we can get our season started now and feel pretty good about things, and was happy to have a nice little battle with Colton. I think we had a good little race there at the end. It’ll be fun to do that hopefully a couple more times this season.

Q. This is the middle weekend of four races in a 14-day period. Now we go to Texas for a double-header. How do you guys feel about — I guess there’s no rest for the wicked?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: No, definitely not. It’s going to be flat out. We’ve got to be on it here. We knew we were going to rattle through four races pretty quickly and then when you really count May into that, you’re getting through a third of the season pretty fast.
We’ll know where we’re at pretty solidly in this championship hopefully by the time we get to June, but we need to stay focused and get through this next period pretty quickly with the best results possible.

Q. Simon, your thoughts?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, it’s obviously a hard day. It’s been two physical races. The cars are faster than ever. Definitely feels like it’s very important to be at a high fitness level, and personally very happy with it. I think it’s the best I’ve ever had.
Very excited about the whole season. I’m glad — we got in a very good groove with the 22 team, so I look forward to the next few races coming up, which we know are going to be strong for us.

Q. A lot of drivers are saying this is a very physical weekend; they seem very exhausted after the race today. I’m wondering how both of you are feeling and why today might have been difficult.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I would say it was probably the heat today. For me, like I felt pretty good in the car physically, but I was really — I was pretty hot. Like this morning I was really, really warm.
Probably not acclimated as well to the heat right now, but yeah, that was the biggest thing for me. I thought it was really humid today. Temperature-wise it wasn’t that hot. I think about 80 degrees. That’s not really that tough. But when you add 90 percent humidity, it definitely changes the effect, so you’ve got to make sure you’re hydrated really well and you’re not overheating because physical exhaustion is one thing but then heat exhaustion is a different one. Yeah, that’s what’s made it tough.
It’s funny, I got through warmup, and I’m like, man, this is going to be a really hard day. Then you get into the race and you’re like, you know what, it’s going to be fine, and you end up getting through it just fine, as always.
I don’t know about Simon, though. He looked pretty worn out, so I’m worried about him for a couple of events. I’m messing with him.

SIMON PAGENAUD: It’s actually quite interesting because I noticed Colton lying down and Josef was next to him pouring water on his face. I felt fantastic. I mean, obviously my fitness program, and I’m being serious, is much better than Josef’s, and I must say I have a lot of confidence right now because if you’re fresh then we can race again. Take that. Come on, come back.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Just look at the lap times at the end. That tells the story to me for fitness.
SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, yeah, look at the lap times at the end. Exactly.

Q. So both of you guys, it’s your peak physical condition that kept you in shape for today?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Absolutely. I feel fantastic.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it’s amazing. You know, we all went through — all the drivers, we went through a performance analysis, and I couldn’t believe how well that I tested compared to the rest of the team. I mean, it’s just — my fitness level is so high right now, and the confidence is through the roof at the moment. While everyone is falling on the floor, I’m so ready for these exhausting races.

Q. Just double checking, Colton was or was not laying down on the ground having water poured —
SIMON PAGENAUD: You’ll have to ask him. You’ll have to ask him.

Q. Simon, can you give us a bit of an overview of Barber and what happened there and if today kind of feels like maybe a bounceback performance or things felt much better today or is your street course package so different to Barber that the two really aren’t relevant to each other?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, I think the street course package is very satisfying. I think we’ve made big improvements, especially since we were here last year. We had a good understanding what we needed from the car, and we found a really good package for my style. So very excited about street course racing.
On the road course, yeah, we need to keep digging, keep finding some performance. Not fully happy there, and I think this is probably our weakness compared to how good we’re going to be on oval, which I think is going to be our most strength — our biggest strength this year. So that’s where we’re at.

Q. For both of you, Colton has really kind of emerged quickly on the kind of INDYCAR scene and really he’s been kind of the stand-out guy at Andretti since he came in and he’s got more wins since Alexander Rossi since he came into INDYCAR. Do you see Colton as sort of the biggest contender from Andretti now?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I would say so. I don’t want to discount someone like Rossi, either. I think Alex is certainly capable of being in that mix every weekend, so I think it would be unwise to discount him, but I think Herta is without a doubt their — to me he seems like the top gun over there.
He’s so young; he started, whatever it was, I think three years ago, but he’s still so young right now, so he’s got a lot of runway, pretty level-headed, has a great crew around him. I know his engineer. He was my first engineer. He’s got a great team around him. Seems to work well with his dad. I was watching his dad this weekend and how proud he was of him when he was getting in the car, and they just seem like they have good chemistry.
Yeah, I think they’ll be in the mix without a doubt all year, but like I said, I wouldn’t discount some of the other boys over at Andretti. I think they have some other capable drivers, too, and not just Herta.

Q. Any thoughts on that, Simon?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, I think he’s fantastic. He’s a great driver. He’s really young, so he’s got a lot of room to improve still, which is impressive.
But I see a lot of young guys coming up and having just as much talent and potential in the future, being championship contenders, as well. The series is at its highest level right now. It’s just incredible to see the talents and the personalities, as well. Yeah, look forward to the future.

Q. Josef, you’ve been incredibly fast all weekend; on those restarts at the end, how much were you thinking championship versus win?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Definitely both. You know, it was kind of serendipitous that it was me and Colton there at the end. I definitely appreciated that personally that we were kind of bouncing back together here after last weekend’s difficulty. But I was pushing him. I mean, look, if he gave me an opportunity to win the race, I was going to take it, as we all should. It just wasn’t quite there.
I really had gotten a second chance at it. If those cautions didn’t come out, I think Colton was going to kind of walk us. He was just better today. He had a little bit on us for sure. But with that fresh opportunity with the two cautions, I pushed as hard as I could directly after them. I mean, I was really looking for a clear, clear opening, and I was close. It was very close to being open there, but it just wasn’t quite enough.
Yeah, I was looking for the win, but certainly tempering things trying to make sure we had a solid day.

Q. Simon, with this third place are you going to run that gold livery all the time now?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, it certainly has a lot of attention this weekend for great reasons. I think it was awesome to see something new like that, something that hasn’t been seen in a while. It’s great to see Australian Gold join us, same with Menard’s. I hope we get them back. I hope they stay and I hope we have more races with that car.

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